11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, Microzooplankton play a pivotal role in the energy transfer between lower and upper trophic levels in marine planktonic food webs. While laboratory data suggest that microzooplankton exhibit higher feeding rates during the daytime, evidence from the field is scarce and contradictory. In this study, we first characterized the nano- and microplanktonic communities of the Gullmar Fjord (Sweden) and its environmental conditions during July and August 2017. Then, we explored the grazing impact of microzooplankton on the phytoplankton community of this ecosystem and assessed their diel grazing activity using the dilution technique. Finally, we evaluated the impact of mesozooplankton at natural concentrations during the experiments. Microzooplankton removed 26% of the phytoplankton standing stock and 96% of the primary production daily, while mesozooplankton did not exert a significant impact on microplankton activity. We did not detect significant diel microzooplankton grazing rhythms during the first experimental period; however, during the second part of the study, after an upwelling event, grazing rates were significantly higher during the night. Therefore, the microzooplankton grazing rhythm in natural systems may vary according to the species composition and abundances of both microzooplankton and prey communities, This study was funded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA Fund) and the FERMI project 526 (CGL2014-59227-R; MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE), and it is a contribution of the Marine Zooplankton Ecology Group 527 (2017 SGR 87). AA was funded with an FPI fellowship (BES-2015-074092) from the MICINN of Spain, With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

9 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, supplementary information https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01665-9, We have assessed the effect of copepod chemical cues on the diel feeding rhythms of heterotrophic and mixotrophic marine protists. All phagotrophic protists studied exhibited relatively high diurnal feeding rates. The magnitude of the diel feeding rhythm, expressed as the quotient of day and night ingestion rates, was inversely related to the time that phagotrophic protists were maintained in the laboratory in an environment without predators. In the case of the recently isolated ciliate Strombidium arenicola, the rhythm was lost after a few months. When challenged with chemical alarm signals (copepodamides) from the copepod Calanus finmarchicus at realistic concentrations (0.6–6 pM), S. arenicola partially re-established diurnal feeding. Conversely, the amplitude of the diel feeding rhythm for the ciliate Mesodinium rubrum was not affected by copepodamides, although the 24-h integrated food intake increased by approximately 23%. For the dinoflagellates Gyrodinium dominans and Karlodinium armiger, copepodamides significantly reduced the amplitude of their diel feeding rhythms; significant positive effects on total daily ingestion were only observed in G. dominans. Finally, the dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, isolated >20 years ago, showed inconsistent responses to copepodamides, except for an average 6% increase in its total ingestion over 24 h. Our results demonstrate that the predation risk by copepods affects the diel feeding rhythm of marine protists and suggests a species-specific response to predation threats, This work was supported by the FERMI project (CGL2014-59227-R; MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE) and is a contribution of the Marine Zooplankton Ecology Group (2017 SGR 87). AA was funded with an FPI fellowship (BES-2015-074092) from the MICINN of Spain, With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), Peer reviewed